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Plant polyphenols have gained prominence in quality of plant products and in human health. An experiment was conducted to determine the association of tea polyphenols with water stress and their suitability as indicators for drought tolerance. The experiment was conducted in a 'rain-out' shelter, and consisted of six tea clones (BBK 35, TRFK 6/8, TRFK 76/1, TRFK 395/2, TRFK 31/30, and TRFK 311/287) and four levels of soil water contents (38, 30, 22, and 14% v/v), which were maintained for a period of 12 weeks. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design and replicated three times. Plant growth was monitored over 6 weeks, and a water stress index was calculated to determine water-stress tolerant clones. Total polyphenols in tea shoots was analyzed and a regression analysis done. The results indicate that declining soil water content (SWC) reduced both growth and content of polyphenols in tea. Tolerant clones maintained a high polyphenol content at low SWC, and also showed less fluctuation in phenolics when subjected to changes in SWC. There was significant (P < 0:001) correlation of total polyphenol content with shoot growth and WSI of tea, and a linear relationship (r 2 ¼ 0:97) between SWC for tea and both, water stress index and shoot polyphenol content. We report that there is a potential to use polyphenols as indicators for selection of droughttolerant tea cultivars.Key words: tea (Camellia sinensis L.); polyphenols; soil water content; drought tolerance Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is rich in polyphenol compounds which have been a subject of study as to their effects on human health. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The crop is the source of manufactured tea, which is consumed worldwide but its production is constrained by frequent recurrence of drought in major production areas.9-11) Tea germplasm that can tolerate low soil water content (SWC) can reduce the losses occasioned by drought in production areas. Readily identifiable indicators for drought tolerance would hasten development and selection of tea germplasm for water stress environments. Plant response to stress is often manifested by its physiological and biochemical reactions, which can provide a basis for screening and selection of individual varieties and germplasm resistant to stress factors. For instance, plants are known to accumulate organic osmolytes, such as proline, glycine betaine, non-reducing sugars, and polyols 12,13) in response to stress factors. Though these organic compounds are species specific, their role is not clearly defined, but it is generally accepted that they contribute to ameliorating stress in plants. [13][14][15] Most of the stress-related organic compounds are secondary plant metabolites and incidentally, tea contains large amounts of polyphenols, particularly of the flavonol class. Some polyphenol derivatives have been used in quality determination in black tea 16) and in fruits, 17) but the role of polyphenols in drought stress and their suitability as indicators of desiccation tolerance in tea have not be...

Studies on antioxidants as neuroprotective agents have been hampered by the impermeability of the blood brain barrier (BBB) to many compounds. However, previous studies have shown that a group of tea flavonoids, the catechins, are brain permeable and neuroprotective. Despite this remarkable observation, there exist no data on the bioavailability and pharmacological benefits of tea anthocyanins (ACNs) in the brain tissue. This study investigated the ability of Kenyan purple tea ACNs to cross the BBB and boost the brain antioxidant capacity. Mice were orally administered with purified and characterized Kenyan purple tea ACNs or a combination of Kenyan purple tea ACNs and coenzyme-Q10 at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight in an experiment that lasted for 15 days. Twenty-four hours post the last dosage of antioxidants, CO2 was used to euthanize the mice after which the brain was excised and used for various biochemical analyses. Brain extracts were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography for ACN metabolites and spectrophotometry for cellular glutathione (GSH). Kenyan purple tea ACNs significantly (P < 0.05) raised brain GSH levels implying boost in brain antioxidant capacity. However, co-administration of both antioxidants caused a reduction of these beneficial effects implying a negative interaction. Notably, ACN metabolites were detected in brain tissue of ACN-fed mice. Our results constitute the first demonstration that Kenyan purple tea ACNs can cross the BBB reinforcing the brain's antioxidant capacity. Hence, the need to study them as suitable candidates for dietary supplements that could support antioxidant capacity in the brain and have potential to provide neuroprotection in neurodegenerative conditions.

Hydro-distilled volatile oils from the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum L. (Lamiaceae) of 13 populations of different silvicultural zones were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against Gram positive (Staphylococcus aereus, Bacillus spp.) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Samonella typhi, Klebisiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis) bacteria and a pathogenic fungus, Candida albicans. All the essential oils are active to the tested microbiles with different strength. The highest antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosae and Proteus mirabilis) was observed from the eastern Kenya (Meru) oil. Meru oil was the best and its effectiveness was consistent on nearly all the microbes tested. The oil from the plant growing in the coastal region of Kenya (Mombasa) showed the best effect only on Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis). Both oils (Meru and Mombasa) were dominated by monoterpenes accounting for 92.48 % and 81.37 % respectively. The monoterpene fraction was characterized by a high percentage of eugenol (68.8 %) for Meru oil and 74.10 % for Mombasa oil. The other major monoterpene was methyl eugenol (13.21 %). Camphor (0.95 %) was observed only in the Meru oil. (Cis)-Ocimene, (trans)-ocimene and β-pinene were present in both Meru and Mombasa oils. The sesquiterpenes present in fairly good amounts in both oils were germacrene D and (trans)-caryophyllene. The minor sesquiterpenes were α-farnesene (0.85 %) and β-bisabolene (0.74 %) which were present in the Meru oil only.

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2 A study to determine the association of fertilizer with soil water deficit in tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] was conducted in a rain-out shelter using potted plants, in which five rates of fertilizer (0, 75, 150, 225 and 300 kg Nitrogen ha −1 ) and six levels of soil water content (38, 34, 30, 26, 22 and 18% v/v) were applied in a complete randomized design and replicated three times. The soil water treatment was maintained for a period of 12 weeks during which shoot growth, plant water relations, and dry matter partitioning in tea were determined. A parallel field experiment with the above fertilizer rates was conducted at three sites in which shoot density and shoot weight were determined during the dry season. Fertilizer improved leaf-to-root and leaf-to-total mass ratios (P < 0.001), reduced shoot growth, shoot water potential and specific leaf area (P < 0.001). The fertilizer exacerbated drought effect on tea through disproportionate assimilate partitioning which consequently weakened the ability of tea to tolerate water stress. Results suggest an indirect contribution of fertilizer supply to drought susceptibility in tea.

Genetic maps are a vital tool in cultivar improvement programmes for woody perennial tree crops such as tea (Camellia sinensis). A population thought to be derived from two known, noninbred parents was scored for RAPD and AFLP markers, in order to develop a linkage map. However, a very high proportion of the markers exhibited unexpected segregation ratios in the light of their con®gurations in the parents, and an exploratory statistical analysis revealed patterns in the marker scores which can most easily be explained by the hypothesis of three male parents contributing pollen to this cross. We discuss the evidence for this and the subsequent analysis required to assemble the markers from the female parent into the ®rst linkage map for tea. The map has 15 linkage groups of three or more markers, agreeing with the haploid chromosome number of tea. The statistical methods that revealed the subpopulations are easy to apply routinely, and may prove a useful diagnostic tool for the analysis of noninbred mapping populations.